Hard Mode
There are 7 different Hard Modes in the game. One provided by the game developers themselves and six, more difficult ones where you can create four challenges for yourself, without the use of Gameshark, but with some gaming "tricks" being very safe to use ! Two of them can only be done with the gameshark. The explanation is written down in the last section below. Difficulty: Hard, classic - * Very Hard - ** (Almost) unbeatable - *** # Classic Hard Mode - Difficulty: * # ' '''Challenge: Use of strong equipment and leveling up ; Djinn Boost Usage for Class change ; restriction: without unleashing djinn/ Summons - '''Difficulty: between * and **' # Character Nuzlocke or Solo Game - Difficulty * to *** (the more you reach the end) # Minimum Level Challenge, without Gameshark Normal and Hard - Difficulty: ** # Minimum Level Challenge, with Gameshark - Difficulty: **, once Superboss reached *** # Djinn based restrictions; depends on situation. Lots of switching Difficulty: * to ** The end is defined as downing the end Boss and beating the main hidden ones, except the strongest of them. 1. Classic Hard Mode ' '( * ) The classic Hard Mode is no different than a hard mode in any other game, although it is only accessible in Golden Sun: The Lost Age and not the original Golden Sun. To play Hard Mode you must start a new file after completing the main game. You start the game out as you normally would (with no stats carried over) but your enemies are far stronger; specifically, they will have 1.5 times the amount of HP and 1.25 times the amount of Atk and Def. It is recommended you know the game well, having at least ended Golden Sun 1 or having reached the point of defeating Briggs. One mistake can cause the loss of one or multiple of your current battling Adepts, when playing as an intermidiate player. If you do not have a save File of someone else, you'll have to finish the game at least once to get access to it, beating the story-scripted end Boss. For intermediate players, it is also recommended that you level up as fast as you can and as high as you can. It is also highly advised you enter a Password in this mode in particular so that the power of the original Golden Sun party is noticeably higher than it would ordinarily be, and allows access to all the Djinn. Boss battles, in particular, will be sharply more challenging. Interestingly enough, the only two enemies that do NOT get as significant a challenge boost as others in Hard Mode are Dullahan, the strongest optional superboss (The maximum amount of HP the game's code allows any enemy to have is 16,383 and, because Dullahan ordinarily has 16,000 HP, this restriction keeps his HP from being increased as dramatically as it is for other monsters.), and Valukar (for similar reasons). It is also worth noting that any monster spawned mid-battle (such as the balls Star Magician summons) will retain their original normal-mode stats, and thus will be significantly easier than their Hard Mode counterparts. Bonus: Hard mode only exists for optional challenge value, as the the trial road in Shaman village offers a slight different challenge to the player, in comparison to the normal mode and also depending on the path you take. The 6 other difficulties, with their variants that are written down below are not formally introduced by the developers of the game. However, due to the game it's nature, It can be happily said to you, you are able to implement those difficulties below yourself. ' '''2. Challenge: Play a Normal/ Hard Game using only equipment and leveling up - ( ** ) ' 'Variants: ' '''(1) Use Djinn Boost for Class change but not for Summons ( * and 1/2 ) (2) Do not use Djinn & Summons ( ** and 1/2 ) ' We present you a funny and manageable way to play the game, again: for at least Intermediate players! It's a game, very comparable to the minimum level challenge, but easier, in the sense your in-game stats are higher and you have less restrictions in terms of psynergy. Even if the overpowered Djinni are not used at all, or to a lesser extent in that game mode ''(only for Class/ stat boosts only). '''The game is still playable without Summons as well.' By using very strong equipment, combined with high levels, good items, you'll learn to make good use of the unleashes your equipments provide. The only thing that becomes a challenge now, ESPECIALLY if you wish to battle the end boss that way, is the huge amount of money you need to collect, in case you wish to use items to protect yourself. A good way to improve your characters even more, is by using stat-boosters. But when?! That's the extra, added and hidden challenge of the game :) It would be best to use it at the highest possible level, or ... 99. The reason: stat boosts, due to equipments, etc, plus not knowing what stat will be capped will be shown, when you'll reach that level, so you do not waste those precious ressources. So, YES! Leveling up and gathering the money and ressources, end-game wise for waters of life, Mist Potions and gaining experience is exhalerating. '''Bonus?' You learn the effects of some status moves even more, or the importance of them by having them inflicted upon you, untill you find a way to make your characters gain at least 40 luck in one stat. 99% of all monsters will be downed with one hit if the proper equipment is used and the level 99 is reached. Fleeiing is a lot easier than in the Minimum Level game, but also to your detriment ( = no experience) 3. Nuzlocke, character Nuzlocke or Solo game: ' '(Progress dependent: * to ** and 1/2, Superboss *** ) It's a game for all players: a test of luck, combined with ability - How far can you go?! Being able to end the game like that, with one or more characters left, shows you are at least a very good player ! It's an idea inspired by the Pokémon game. You play the game like in real life, that, when one character is "downed", you give yourself the rule to count that character as "dead". When having the first 4 characters of course, especially in TLA and Dark Dawn, it wouldn't be possible to put your characters in the back row or in the PC, like in Pokémon. That's why you can use the placement of your unusable or dead character strategically in the front to lessen the damage of multi-hitting psynergies. The biggest difficulty is the one you set up for yourself. I think it would be fair to point all the instant-down moves as instant kills, even in scripted encounters, except the one in Prologue (Golden Sun 1)! To lessen the difficulty a little bit, choose for yourself if you wish to see your characters as "revived" by Alex, when you are at the Jupiter Lighthouse. Life is full of surprises. Death too! Good LUCK ;) finishing it. Bonus: - If all Characters are downed, the challenge IS over. But, the game can still be played normally. - If all your characters are KO'd, that challenge is over. Please re-start the game from scratch. - Still not hard enough?! That challenge is, for those who dare, even playable as a Minimum Level Challenge! 4.Minimum Level Challenge, without Gameshark Normal and Hard ' '( ** , SuperBoss = *** ) : Preparation: (1) Beating/ progressing the story with 1 character - Difficulty: ** and a half Those are even more difficult game modes - To give an even bigger challenge than Hard Mode ... Accessible in Golden Sun 2 and Partially in 1 (only Normal). In short: it's a Hard mode, almost 100% minimum level game - for Game Boy Advance Players, without access to a VBA and/ or cheating device. For those who do not wish to use the VBA, are not able to install it, or see the code below as cheating, there still is a way to give yourself almost the same gaming experience in Hard Mode as the one below, albeit being more restrictive in some ways, or ... Giving you also other options (seen from another perspective). How can you play that way? Play Golden Sun 1 ( 2, or even Dark Dawn) with a character you choose it has to level up (eventually even with stat boosters), so you can progress normally in the game. Keep your characters KO'd, untill saving your game in front of the BOSS's and fight them: - with the character you give the permission to level up. You do this to progress in your game. - with the 3 characters you do not wish to level up: face the Boss and restart your game when done, so the basic levels are kept - to give yourself the challenge as closely related as the one below. By playing Golden Sun 2 as well, the same way, and by combining the 2 games, you'll effectively have 2 characters being leveled up and 6 non-leveled, maximizing the gaming experience. Tip: By looking closely at the Adepts their stats, you can see some of them have stats that are extremely similar, as well as their movepool. I propose you to choose to level up one of those characters, in case you do not know what characters* to choose for that challenge ! That way, every character will be able to contribute to the battle with his own and unique strategy in that low level challenge. * = indicates a spoiler at the bottom of the page to those who wish to know which characters have a similar movepool. Of course, the game experience will feel different than all the other game modes, but it will still give you a taste of both the Minimum Level Challenge below and simultanuously a good part of a normal gaming challenge, giving you effectively a ... Bonus "New Difficulty" mode. 5.Minimum Level Challenge, with Gameshark ' '( ** to ** and a half, SuperBoss = *** ) ' Those are even more difficult game modes - To give an even bigger challenge than ''Minimum Level, without Gameshark Normal and Hard... Accessible in Golden Sun 2 and Partially in 1 (only Normal). This article has been written to give the players who love Golden Sun an additional challenge, so they can play it from another perspective and rediscover useful aspects of the game that seemed pointless in the Easy, Normal and to a lesser extent, Hard mode. Those Minimum Level Challenges still have to be achieved in the latter two ones. To let you know exactly HOW, extra explanations will be given below. Know that the whole game, be it on normal and on hard mode is also fully playable-and-beatable when all characters have minimal/ all their starting levels, whether being from golden sun 1 or 2. The explanation now may seem obvious, but to those who never played the game: it's pointless to start that challenge in Easy mode, because the characters keep their levels from the previous playthrough. Before starting that challenge in Hard Mode, look at the chapter above, called: "'''Classic Hard Mode" that show you the basics to start the game that way. Once done everything above, defeat your urge as well to use stat-enhancing items, to keep that challenge going, because they have, albeit to a lesser extent ... The same effect as gaining a level, making this challenge absolutely pointless ! Next, insert the Gameshark code below, if you play it with Visual Boy Advance (Vba): 820305a0 0000 320305a2 0000 Feel free to also add the codebreaker or Gameshark code you need to put in the device for the real Gameboy Advance or SP. The challenge boost in that game is so high, to the point of giving moderate experienced players multiple Game Overs, especially in the later parts of the beginning, after having reached the bridge of Madra. The only thing you risk with playing the game that way is a bruise to your ego, by overcoming temporary failure(s). For those who persist, know you've become a much better player, because your progress in the game depends on your and YOUR play style alone ! A first hidden rule in that game mode: fleeiing is something that is not easy to do in the "normal" minimum level challenge, but even more improbable in the one played on the "hard" difficulty. A tip to not discourage you: Djinni are, in fact overpowered, making Summon Rushing only interesting if you wish to "flee" a battle. For a fair challenge, only small Summons (the likes of Megeara, and mid-battle: Judgement and Coatlieue) are needed to defeat a Boss, making the bigger ones essentially useful for only the last and strongest Boss. Tip: There is no point in summon rushing in that mode, except for maybe Dullahan. Djinn are so overpowered you can do that too in the other modes. Doing this will make your preparations beforehand pointless ! While playing that game mode, it's not only interesting, but also very important to use all the other available ressources you can have at hand ! Not being able to level up, constraints you in not learning new Psynergy! But do not be afraid! There are items you can forge for a price, found in a hidden chest or after beating a monster, so you can still emulate some of them that are extremely helpful, like the Wish Well series (Spirit Ring), Impact (War Ring), Restore (Fairy ring) or even medium to high-end psynergy like Hail Prism (Crystal Powder) and Mad Blast (Hiotoko mask). Finding those equipments requires exploration and 'survival' in dungeons, making this game mode even more interesting! All the special items in-game will finally be helpful for once, Djinni placement strategy even more and Speed will be of a very huge importance. The game offers more than enough ressources to do that, especially if you have collected all the Djinn! Some monster groups in very late, not easily accessible dungeons that challenge you will be so sturdy, you are in fact almost forced to use a Djinni, called Gasp that is now useful with his curse effect, due to the length of some of the battles. Djinn their passive boosts are more useful as well, as much as their individual effects, you need to use carefully to survive your enemies their attacks.Very small details, like the priority effect of the Djinn Breath can now give you a massive advantage, which you really couldn't easily perceive in the more normal game modes, with the characters, being so strong! Overall This is a game mode with essentially a normal game play, with the Boss's giving a notoriously good, but not unovercomable challenge. This is even the case with the serpent (with no lights) known for it's high difficulty in even normal game play! This is especially the case if you collect most of the Djinn (minimum 7 per adept) and equip your characters fairly, taking speed, good tactics, and specific Djinn usage play into account, who have a more crucial role in especially the hidden dungeons. Bonus of minimum Level Challenge (Normal/ Hard): (1) The battle with Maopa will, finally!!! Become a REAL challenge, comparably to the battle with Briggs. Having activated the (golden) PASSWORD, then the gladiators from Tolbi and the thieves from Vault will also prove to be entertaining ... When encountered. (2) After having reached the meeting point with other characters, the game also gives an extra replay value as well in case you wish to retravel all the continents with the party from Golden Sun 1. (3A) In Battle Mode, you get an extra and really good challenge by fighting an extremely high variety (almost all) of monsters you already have encountered, due to your low level! This is NOT the case in the Easy, Normal and Hard game mode, where you more than surely leveled your party up! The reason behind that is because you are only able to fight monsters of the lowest levels, compared to those of YOUR characters. (3B) Following that, you can try and test even more battling strategies! Tip: have a save file where you battled and another where you did not battle the Super Bosses, to give yourself an alternative challenge. (4) The lower the level, the higher the encounter rate. Due to a higher monster encounter rate, it is easier to earn money. If you wish, it is also possible to have even more battles in case you have the lure cap. Having less to no battles on the world map and in dungeons is still possible with the psynergies "avoid", "sand" and sacred feathers. When at sea, by just selecting "hover" on a Jupiter Adept once you have it, travelling can also be done safely! Those small details make a big difference to the replay value of the game, so you can still challenge yourself even more or less, when you feel the need. 6. Limited Djinn Variants: "Impure run" * -> "Tri-Run" * "Mono-Run" * "Class-item run" (GS2 only) **-* "Reserve Run" *.5 "No Djinn Run" *** These are a set of challenges that are based on Djinn avalible. Tough not particularly difficult (except for possibly the Class-item run and the No Dijnn run), these can be tiring to pull off due to constant switching. In essence, these involve only allowing certain set ups of Djinn. Due note that in order to allow the game to be completed, you are allowed to have all Djinn on standby (ready to summon) on a character to use their mono-elemental field abilities (such as Whirlwind). Similar changes are allowed to access Growth and the like. However, the player cannot battle with a character in a different state than the rules allow. (The player should either have the character only use normal attacks or run from the battle). Explanation Impure Run: The least restrictive, the player can use any set up they want...only, they cannot have any character in their normal element (Ex: Ivan can use fire, water or earth classes but not the air ones). The djinn are allowed though (Ivan can have Jupiter Djinn on him as long as either a) their are on standby or b) he has a different element Djinn on him to give him a different class). The point is to get the player to use odd arrays of Djinn they wouldn't normally use. -> Tri-Run The player may wish to turn an Impure Run into a "Tri Run" when the neccesary Djinn become avalible. This involves strictly using only the tri-elemental classes (Ninja, Dragoon, White Mage, etc.) This iteration is much easier in GS2 due to the tri-elemental classes having multiple levels. Mono Run: Probably the easiest, one that you may have done on automatic. This involves players only being able to use Djinn from the character's element. Issac/Felix can use only Venus, Garrett/Jenna can use only Mars, Ivan/Sheba can only use Jupiter, Mia/Piers can only use Mercury. Very easy, but already low-defense characters will stay low defense. Class Item (GS2 only): This is highly restrictive and forces the player to do side-tracking. It also requires use of the Trial Road glitch to allow the fourth character to use Djinn. There are 3 class items that allow the player to make a character a Pierrot, Dark Mage or a Trainer. This run allows four set ups: these 3 classes and...no Djinn at all. As such, the game will be hard until you get the items. Also, until the Trial Road the player will have a character still on their normal class. This does force the player to use rare and interesting Psynergy, and allows the player to have a broad enough set of Djinn to allow for multiple characters to use the classes. Reverse Run: An iteration of the Impure Run. Characters may only use Djinn of the opposite element. Guide: Fire <->Mercury Jupiter <->Venus No Djinn Run: Possibly one of the hardest non-level based challenges. Also the most self explanatory. The player can do whatever they want...but with no Djinn at all. Not even 1. All Djinn must be on Standby (and this means no summoning!). Combine with the Gameshark minimum level for the ultimate challenge. The player CAN use item-based classes though (but no Djinn). Recommended is to farm rare items such as the Staff of Anubis from Red Demons or the Feathered Robe from the Wild Gryphon. This will at least make you decked out with a strong arsenal of equipment. Remember that the Psynergy Rod can be used to restore PP in battle on a character otherwise used for Area damage Psynergy, buffing and/or healing. Enjoy! *Very similar characters are: Felix and Isaac; Sheba and Ivan Category:Golden Sun: The Lost Age Category:Gameplay